Technology summit comes to Walmart’s back yard
Northwest Arkansas isn’t the first place that comes to mind when the phrase “hotbed of start-up activity” is uttered, but organizers of a first-of-its-kind technology summit are looking to change that perception.
On November 10, more than 800 people are expected to gather at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers, Ark., for the Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit, an event organized by the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Arkansas Council.
“Northwest Arkansas is an incredible area with a hot bed of startup activity mixed in with some of the largest companies in the world and attendees will be able to hear perspectives from both worlds,” said Bill Akins, chairman of the chamber’s NWA Tech Council and a senior executive in the Rogers office of Rockfish. “The more than 1,200 Northwest Arkansas-based suppliers who support Walmart are also at a turning point. They are embracing areas of technology not usually found alongside sales, shopper marketing and logistical roles classically trained to support brick and mortar. This event is a unique melding of worlds where social media, big data, e-commerce fulfillment models, cyber security and digital shelf optimization are becoming the new rules of play in an always on omnichannel world.”
The Summit will feature 25 industry leaders in five breakout session tracks that will focus on retail/supplier, corporate/enterprise, business solutions, developer/technologist and personnel. Given the event’s location and focus, several representatives from Walmart are on the agenda. Jacqui Canney, executive vice president of global people for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the lunch speaker. She joined Walmart earlier this year after more than 25 years with Accenture to lead the retailer’s technology intensive efforts to manage, attract and retain a workforce of more than two million people.
In addition to Canney, Sam’s Club’s Chief Member Officer Tracey Brown will address the topic of omnichannel. Brown joined Sam’s Club last year to focus on member experience and strategy, marketing, go-to-market execution, analytics and membership operations. Speaking on the technical topic of enterprise mobile development will be Johan Baer, a senior programmer analyst who has been with Walmart since 2011.
Although there are several representatives from Walmart on the agenda, the event is by design intended to have a broader technology focus with content relevant for everyone from C-level executives to those writing code. For example, the keynote speaker is Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions. As head of the newly created business unit at AT&T he oversees the company’s wireless and business services operations, which serve more than 116 million mobile customers in the U.S. and more than 3.5 million business customers in 100 countries globally.
Other notable speakers at the event include, Louis Patler, a New York Times bestselling author who serves as president of The B.I.T. Group, a strategic business consulting company and Bill Franks, chief analytics officer at Teradata Corp. Other confirmed speakers include, Rockfish founder Kenny Tomlin, Digimarc Chief Marketing Officer Larry Logan, Salesforce Chief Adoption Office Polly Summer and CROSSMARK Chief Information Officer Mike Anderson.
“The Tech Summit is a rare occasion where small to large scale businesses will come together to learn how technology levels the playing field. Attendees will be given practical steps that they can take back and implement immediately in the workplace,” said Dana Davis, president and CEO of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.
The event will run from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. followed by a reception at the Rockfish office located in the Pinnacle business complex a short walk from the convention center. For more information or to register, click here
www.nwatechsummit.com